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Franklin High art teacher Jaime Alonso Arias accused of having sex with student since 2016

A 50-year-old art teacher arrested this month is accused of having sexual encounters with a student inside a Franklin High School utility room, according to court documents.

Jaime Alonso Arias is accused of having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old girl since she was a freshman at Franklin in 2016, according to a criminal complaint filed by an El Paso police detective.

Detectives arrested Arias on Nov. 14 on a charge of an improper relationship between an educator and a student. Arias was released from jail the next day after posting a $50,000 bond.

An investigation began after police were contacted by Child Protective Services regarding a high school teacher having a sexual relationship with a student, according to the complaint.

Detectives spoke with the teen girl, who "denied the sexual relationship and stated that these were just rumors," the complaint said.

A few days later, detectives received another, more detailed CPS report that the girl lied to police about the relationship, the complaint said.

In a follow-up interview, the girl told detectives that she initially lied because Arias allegedly told her that he would kill himself if she told anyone about their relationship, according to the complaint.

The girl alleged that she and Arias had sex in a utility room near his classroom at Franklin High School, the complaint said. She also said he would pick her up after school and they would have sex in his truck, according to the complaint.

The complaint mentioned that Arias agreed to go to police headquarters to give a statement to investigators. But once at headquarters, he refused to talk and said he would be getting a lawyer.